Method of sealing cartons, packages, and other objects



' May 24, 1932.

A. D. BULLERJAHN 1,859,652

METHOD OF SEALING GARTONS, PACKAGES, AND OTHER OBJECTS Original Filed July 17, 192'? 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1932- A. D. BULLERJAHN 1,859,652

METHOD OF SEALING CARTONS, PACKAGES, AND OTHER OBJECTS Original Filed July 1'7, 192'? 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 1H lllll i |\i\| av QT 0v F n g {a g f a M F i 5 5 9 Q J w a, 9 11 w a Paw, CW. 0% F MH ww I g 0 I, g BM IHHw 1 2/ m. p 5 A a 6 w 5 I INN INN/Ill, 5 l l v 1 May 24, 1932. A. D. BULLERJAHN 1,859,652

PACKAGES, AND OTHER OBJECTS Original Filed July 17, 1927 METHOD OF SEALING CARTONS,

3 SheetsSheet 3 Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADOLPH D. BULLERJAHN, OI MINNEAPOLIS, EINNESOTA Original application filed July 17, 1927, Serial No. 199,478. Divided. and this application filed August 5, 1929. Serial No. 388,675.

This application is dividedfrom my application Serial'No. 199,47 8, filed June 17, 1927. This invention relates to a method of sealing cartons, packages and other objects.

'5 According to the invention ends of cartons or other objects to be sealed are passed through a freely descending stream of molten sealing medium, either manually or carried upon a suitable conveyor. It is preferred to control the stream so that it comprises relatively thick portions or edges so thatportions of the sides adjacent to a face of the carton or object pass through said thick portions of the stream so thatthey are coated with sealing medium. It is preferred to present said face to the stream so that said stream is impeded to some extent so that said face becomes completely coated and the sealing medium' extends to a slight extent over the topof the carton or other object to be sealed.

It is also preferred to divert the stream below said face so that it contacts with a small portion of the bottom of the carton or the like which also becomes coated with sealing medium.

The sealin medium is preferably wax but other suitabe sealing media may be emplayed if desired. "The term wax is used hereinafter and in the appended claims to designate not only wax but also other suitable materials which may be used forthis purpose. 7

While the new method may be performed by band orby" means of suitable apparatus, it is preferred to illustrate same in connection with the apparatus which forms the subject matter of my application Serial No. 199,478, filed June 17, 1927, from which the 0 present application has been divided. .Such apparatus is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is'a perspective View of the sealing apparatus with the position of va carton 5 indicated in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing the discharging column of fluid wax, or other sealing medium;

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating the relation of the sealing apparatus to the conveyor;

gig t is a detail showing one form of weir; an

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing an alternate form of weir.

The apparatus as a whole comprises a'tank consisting in the form shown of end walls 10'10, a vertical rear wall 11, a front obliquel disposed wall 12 and a bottom13. The tan as shown is mounted upon standards 14;, although obviously it might be otherwise supported.

Below the tank is located a'drain pan 15 which is supported in sloping relation between the standards 14, being provided for the purpose of catching the overflow of excess wax from the sealing, and returning it through a suitable pipe 16 which leads to a pump or the like, not shown, from which in turn leads a supply pipe 17 for discharging the hot melted wax into the top of the tank or reservoir. In order to maintain a proper level within the reservoir, an overflow pipe 18 is provided which opens downwardly into the pan '15 through the base 13 of the reservoir. Since it is desirable to provide means for closel regulating the overflow level to meet variations in the conditions encountered, the upper end of the pipe 18 has screw threaded thereonto a cap 19 provided with one or more inlet apertures 20 leading to the interior of the pipe 18, which ca is carried by the lower end of a stem 21 t readed through a boss 22 in such a way as to ermit the vertical elevation of the cap to e fidjusted to regulate the overflow point. I

The main reservoir is located in proximity to an endless conveyor 23, whichmay be in the form of a chain conveyor as shown, or in any other suitable form, although it is desirable to permit of a limited degree of lateral tilting of the conveyor'to bring its surface into slightly oblique relation with respect to the horizontal floor level for a reason to be presently explained. As shown, the su porting surface of the conveyor is aiforde by a plurality of supporting plates 24, each of which is of a size to receive and carry a carton 25, one end of which it is desired to seal during the interval of its passage in front of the wax containing reservoir.

.tion of the slide plate.

In order to tipthe conveyor to the desired degree, any suitable form of appliance may be provided, as, for instance, a roller 26 mounted upon the end of a swinging arm27 pivoted at 28 to a standard 29, the heel 30 of which may be vertically adjusted by means of a screw 31 or like device. By adjusting the screw, the chain conveyor may be slightly twisted or canted to afiord the desired obliquity in its surface to bring the end of the carton into proper relation to the sealing column or sheet of falling wax.

The falling column of wax, which is indicated by A, is discharged through an orifice located between the upper edge of a weir 32 and a slide plate 33. The widtli of this orifice can be regulated by adjustment of the slide late, and the edge of the weir may be "ariedin shape, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. In Fig. 4 is shown an arrangement in which each end of the discharge orificeis enlarged vertically by providing notches 34 and 35, respectively, in the weir and the adjacent por- In Fig. 5 modification consists in providing intermediate notches 36 in the edge of the weir in conjunction with complementary V-shaped teeth 37 in the edge of the slide plate which, in efiect, divides the discharge orifice into three sections, which will result in practically dividing the outflowing column of melted wax into three sheets or columns.

It has been shown by demonstration that an outflowing stream or sheet of melted wax of the character used for sealing purposes will tend by reason of its viscosity and by its accelerating rate of flow as it falls to draw together or narrow as it elongates without, however, breaking into individual drops or particles, and this convergence or narrowing of the falling column is accompanied by the formation along each of the edges of the lips a in which the column is thickened in comparison with the thickness of the intermediate sheet between the lips. This tendency to thicken at the edges may be accentuated by giving to the discharge orifice the configuration shown in Fig. 4, in which the ends of the orifice are enlarged to permit of an increased discharge at the margins of the falling sheet.

If, however, it is desired to divide the column into a plurality of sections, so that each section in turn will present a pair of thickened marginal edges, the configuration shown in Fig. 5 may be employed. In either event, the formation of the thickened marginal edges is taken advantage of in the end sealing operation of the cartons by reason of the fact that the ends which require sealing are passed through at an angle to the normal plane of the falling column, and hence serve to restrict or hold back the column within the space afforded between the front surface-of the weir plate 38 and the end wall of the carton 25, so that the falling column, instead of traversing the plane indicated by the dotted line b in-Fig. 2, will be crowded back somewhat and thus held in close sealing contact with the end face of the carton.

At the same time, the passage of the advancing edge of the carton through the thickened marginal lip of the falling column will serve to seal the edge-of the carton around onto the side face to a slight degree, thereby completely sealing this advancing edge around the corner. In like manner, the rear edge of a carton, as it passes beyond the lip of the falling column, will allow the wax to flow in behind the rear edge and seal around the rear corner to the degree required to secure a complete seal.

The wax will seal over and around the upper edge at the point 0 by reason of the fact that the restriction of the normal outflow of the wax, due to the transversing of the carton, will cause an outflowing of the wax over the upper corner which will thoroughly seal the carton at this point. The lower corner will be sealed by the provision of a shelf or ledge 39 which is adjustably mounted upon the weir wall 38, being provided with slotted ears 40 through which are entered screws 41 permittin vertical adjustment of the ledge. As the downwardly flowing wax strikes against the ledge, it will be diverted outwardly and underthe edge of the carton seal- 1ng around the lower corner as indicated in Fig. 2.

As before stated, the carton is preferably held in oblique relation by tipping or tilting the conveyor, and this is done for the purpose of bringing the end of the carton almost into parallelism with the normal plane of flow of the wax, which tends, as it falls. to diverge outwardly away from a vertical falling position due to the maintenance of a head of wax above the weir outlet, as indicated in Fig. 2. It is highly desirable to provide for precise ad ustment not only of the carton, but also of the appliance for regulating the discharge of the wax, and the means for securing such adjustment will now be described.

The weir plate 38 constitutes the front Wall of a box-like frame 42 of rectangular shape comprising a lower wall 43, side walls 44 and a top wall 45, the side walls beingprovided with grooves 46 which afford guides for the vertical adjustment of the slide plate 33. The frame 43, which may be referred to as the outer frame, is telescopically guided within an intermediate frame 47 comprising a wall 48 having a depending flange 49, which wall merges into side walls 49 connected with a top wall 50. The intermediate frame is also provided with side flanges 51, the upper ends of which are carried upwardly in the form of upstanding bracket arms 52. each rearwardly turned at its upper end 53 to receive an adjusting screw 54.

The adjusting screws are threaded onto the lid upper edge of a gate 55, which'gate comprises segmental side walls 56 and an arcuate bottom wall 57. The gate is pivoted on trunnions 59 extending into a fixed frame 60 which is mounted upon the front wall 12 of the reservoir, and the frame furnishes a margin for an orifice 61 of proper dimensions to permit'the gate to be swung in and out upon the trunnions 59 without permitting discharge of the wax around the margins of the gate frame.

In addition to the screw 54, which permits regulation of the height of the intermediate frame. the side flanges 51 of the latter are provided with slots 62 through which are entered screw posts 63 carrying nuts 64 for clamping the intermediate frame 'in adjusted position upon the gate, and this adjust-- ment serves to regulate the vertical height of the overflow edge of the weir 32 and to hold the intermediate frame with the parts carried thereby in closely abutting relation to the forward edge of the gate to prevent the escape of wax at this point. The side walls of the intermediate frame are provided with outstanding lugs 65 which receive the ends of adjusting screws 66 threaded through lugs 67 on the outer frame. and by adjustment of said screws, the outer frame can be regulated to vary its distance toward or from the conveyor which enables adjustment to be made with respect to the width of the cartons to be sealed.

The obliquity of the weir wall 38 may be regulated by swinging the gate on its trunnions through the desired degree. so that by suitable adjustment. the relation of the parts may be varied to bring the weir wall 38 from a substantially vertical plane to a sharp degree of obliquity, as occasion may require The swinging adjustment of the gate will be regulated by means of a screw 68 which extends through a lug or car 69 on the edge of the gate wall 55. The end of the screw bears against the outer wall of the tanlr. so that by turning the screw, the gate and all of the parts carried thereby may be swung as a unit to secure the desired adjustment.

In order to bring the inner ends of, the cartons into proper relation to the discharge of wax from the weir, an adjustable shoe 70 is provided having an elongated slot 71 which is guided by a pin 72 outstanding from the side wall 49 of the intermediate wall, which pin in conjunction with a screw 73 serves to regulate the degree of projection of the shoe beyond the face of the weir wall 38.

The general arrangement of the sealing appliance is diagrammaticallyillustrated in Fig. 3. In this figure, it will be noted that one pair of tanks is located on the right hand side of the conveyor and at one point in the line of travel, and that a second pair is located on the opposite side at a different point from the line of travel. The first tank of each pair is employed to contain the wax or similar sealing composition, and the compan ion tanl: is employed for the discharge of cold water, which is desirable where an immediate chilling of thewan is required in order to afiord a smooth surface to the seal coating.

The discharge of the water upon the freshly applied wax will instantly hold the same and will give a better finish than would otherwise be obtained. The previously unsealed end of the carton will be sealed by a second operation at a point through and along in the line of travel, the conveyor being oppositely tilted to bring the guides into proper relation to the second set of sealing appliances. Each of the tanks is preferably constructed in the manner heretoforedescribed, although obviously the water tank may be omitted where it is not desired to secure the chilling edect.

The cartons to be sealed will usually be wrapped in an oiled or waxed water proof paper which afiords the required amount of sealing for the body of the carton, so that an application of was; in the manner described need be made only at the ends of the carton to cover over, hold down and seal the folds of the wrapping at the ends and around the end edges, the ends ordinarily being glued or otherwise fastened before being wax sealed.

The operation of the device may be brief-- ly summarized as follows:

The hot melted wax or like composition will be discharged into the reservoir until it reaches the overflow point, which may be adjusted to secure the desired head of wax above the weir level by adjustment of the overflow cap 19 in the manner described. The vertical elevation of the weir edge 32 may be efiected by adjusting the intermediate frame up and down across the face of the gate by turning the adjusting screws 54.

A proper lateral-adjustment of the weir edge with respect to the conveyor maybe effected by 'movingthe outer frame in or out of the intermediate frame by adjustment of the screw 66 until the desired relation of these parts is obtained. The angularity or obliquity of the weir wall may be adjusted by a swinging adjustment of th segmental gate which carries with it the intermediate outer frames and parts associated therewith. The width of the discharge slot or orifice above the weir may be regulated by the slide plate 33 and the proper tilt of the conveyor may be regulated by the screw 31 or other equivalent appliances. Finally. the ledge 39 may be adjusted'to aflord the necessary space for the discharge of wax under the lower edge of the carton, and the shoe 70 may be adjusted to regulate the distance of the carton from the weir opening.

When all of the adjustments have been properly effected, the wax will discharge through the weir opening in a sheet or column having the lipped configuration previously described, and as the cartons pass in succession through the discharging sheet or columnof wax, the end faces will be coated with wax, which coating will extend slightly around each of the edges, so that acornplete seal at one end will be provided for. T he melted wax should be discharged in the tank at a proper rate of flow to maintain the desired level, and with the level properly maintained, a uniform sealing effect will be produced on all of the cartons delivered in a continuously traveling procession as the conveyor advances.

Where the water tanks are used for chilling purposes, the water discharge will be regulated in the same manner by adjustment of the various portions of the water discharging apparatus, and thereafter the cartons in a continuously moving procession will be brought into the proper relation with the second set of sealing and chilling appliances, which will seal the opposite ends of the cartons prior to their ultimate delivery. By providing the adjustments indicated,,and by employing a weir discharge configured, if desired, to increase the thickness of the lips along the margins may be obtained and uniformity in the sealing effect secured.

The apparatus as a whole one which may be readily applied .to conveyors of existing type without in any way interfering with the speed or continuity of travel of the cartons from the wrapping machine to the point of delivery.

Although the invention has been described in connection with the details of a particular apparatus, it is not intended that such details shall be regarded as limitative upon the scope of the invention, except insofar as included in the accompanying claims.

I claim 1. The method of sealing objects which consists in discharging a column of molten wax under a head maintained above the point of. discharge. said column being discharged outwardly in the form of a falling sheet having thickened or lip-like marginal edges, and in conveying objects to be sealed in a line of travel to bring the discharging sheet into contact with the surface to be sealed, substantially as described.

2. The method of sealing objects which consist sin discharging a column of molten wax, said column being dischar ed outwardly in the form of a falling sheet aving thick ened or lip-like marginal edges, and in con veying objects to be sealed in a linetof travel to bring the discharging sheet into cc'mtact with the surface to be sealed, substantially as described.

3. The method of sealing rectangular objects which consists in outwardly discharging a sheet of liquid moltenwax having thickened marginal lips and in carrying the object to be sealed through the plane of the discharging sheet, thereby crowding back the sheet behind its normal plane of discharge to cause an overflowing of the wax above the upper edge of the to-be-sealed object and a sealing around of the vertical edges and also outwardly diverting the falling sheet beneath the lower edge to complete a sealing of the exposed face and surrounding edges, substantially as described.

4. The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly, moving a face of an object to be sealed through said stream so as to contact with said wax and retarding the stream below said face so that the wax contacts with the adjacent part of the bottom of said object.

5. The method of sealing; objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly, moving a face of an object to be sealed into the path of said stream whereby the movement of said stream is impeded so as to bring the wax into contact with said face and diverting said stream below said face so as to bring the wax into contact with the adjacent portion of the bottom of said object.

6. T he method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly, movinga face of an object to be sealed into the path of said stream whereby the movement of said stream is impeded so as to bring the wax into contact with said face and the adjacent portion of'the top of said object and diverting said stream below said face so as to bring the wax into contact with the adjacent portion of the bottom of said object. I

7. The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly ma continuous stream and-moving a face of an object to be sealed into the path of said stream so that portions of sides adjacent a face of the object make contact with said wax and said stream is impeded by said object so as to bring the wax into contact with said face and the adjacent portion of the top of said object.

8.- The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly, moving a face of an object to be sealed through said stream so that said face and portions of the' sides of the obj ect adjacent said face come into contact with said wax, and retarding the flow of said wax below said face so that the wax contacts with the adjacent part of the bottom of said obect,

'9. The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molt-en wax to flow freely downwardly, moving a face of an object to be sealed into the path of said stream in such a mannerthat parts of the sides adjacent said face contact with said wax and the stream is impeded so as to bring the wax into contact with said face and diverting said flow below said face so as to bring the wax into contact with the adjacent portion of the bottom of said object.

10. The method-of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly, moving a face of an object to be sealed into the path of said stream so as to bring portions of the sides adjacent a face into contact with said wax and impede the movement of said stream so as to bring the wax into contact with said face and the adj acent portion of the to of said object and diverting said flow be ow said face so as to brin the wax into contact with the adjacent portlon of the bottom of said object.

11. The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly in the form of a stream with thickened portions, moving corners of an object to be sealed through said thickened portions and bringing the side of the object therebetween into contact with said stream.

12. The method of sealing objects which consists in causin molten wax to flow freely downwardly in the form of a stream with a thickened edges, moving corners of an object to be sealed through said edges and bringing the side of the object therebetween into the y path of said stream to cause same to back up and coat said side and the portion of the top w of said object adjacent thereto.

13. The method of sealing objects which consists in causin molten wax to flow freely downwardly in t e form of a stream with thickened edges, moving corners of an 0bj ect to be sealed through said edges, bringing the side of the object therebetween into the path of said stream to cause same to back up and coat said side and the portion of the top of said object adjacent thereto and diverting said stream outwardly below said side to coat the portion of the bottom adjacent thereto.

14. The method of sealing objects which consists in causing molten wax to flow freely downwardly in the form of a stream with thickened ed es, moving corners of an object to be sealed t rough said edges, bringing the side of the object therebetween into. the path of said stream to cause same to back up and coat said side and the portion of the top of said object adjacent thereto and setting said wax by water.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31 day of July, 1929.

ADOLPH D. BULLERJAHN. 

